Breaking Labels.

In this day and age there is a disconnect between what we THINK and what actually IS, which leads us to a place where we think we know, but really don't know what we don't know.
Somewhere, lost in translation, is the key to the whole thing, or so we think, if only we would just keep at it, keep our noses to the grindstone.
Certainly there are benefits to this, but training for years and years should not yield benefits somewhere down the road... Things should be applicable in the here and now, not just in the Philosophical sense, but in every sense.

There are people who know this, too, people who have spent countless hours figuring things out and countless more bringing this stuff to public awareness.
The idea that 'something is missing' has led many to explore various options outside the box, drawing some very interesting conclusions, although not quite conclusions as these people are still working at it, as they should be, as everyone should be, to improve upon improvement... There is no end, there is no such thing as perfection or even a 'one size fits all' sort of answer to the question.

Some speak disparagingly of Karate as an art, stating that its' origins are less than we are being told while others speak highly of the art, claiming it DOES have all the answers insofar as practical street application is concerned.
Neither of these is the case, in my view, as the truth always lay somewhere in the middle, often proving to be a bit stranger than fiction in some areas, not so much in others. Again, there is that in between thing.

Some have gone to other arts to 'find' what was missing; in my view this is just guesswork and patching things one does not fully understand, although not always and at the same time it does yield some very interesting things while, at the same time, producing some very skilled Martial Artists that could likely mop the floor with most would-be assailants.

Is there REALLY something missing, or is it just a matter of properly framing our point of reference so that we can actually SEE what is already there?
Not for one minute do I buy into the notion that some group out there is hoarding all the answers, it never works out too well when a group makes such claims and, honestly, the people that buy into this sort of thing really should take another look at Jonestown, or Aum Shinrikyo, they are heading down the same path if they fail to practice any sort of discernment or critical thinking.

There is NOTHING WRONG with cross training and improving upon one's art, adding understanding and adding to the arsenal at one's disposal.
No one Art has all the answers, and no one group has the one true way. Everyone is different, mentally, physically, and emotionally. Yes, we all have two arms, two legs, a head, a neck, a torso, etc., but it should ALL be personalized, in point of fact, it used to be, and many of the arts that are presently being applied in places like 'The Octagon' and 'The Street' ARE personalized.
Going back to what I had stated about mechanics and principles being the only thing upon which we should base any sort of standard, this is already being played out in Judo, Jujitsu, Modern Combatives, and Boxing.
These things do certainly have a standard upon which they are based... That standard, the only standard, is what works.

We, as Karateka, get hung up on trivial stuff, much to our own detriment. Our methodology of training has taken a hit because of this focus.
Things have been 'lost,' yes, but that does not mean they are not there to be rediscovered. Certainly this might require looking at other arts, or at least thinking in a principles and mechanics mindset, these things can be uncovered and seen for what they are... So long as we know how to look for them and are not just practicing from a place of 'guesswork' and 'patching things up.'

Faster, stronger, harder, that is the mantra of patchwork. If we are trying to force something to work by going faster, stronger, and harder, what happens if we are four foot five? Faster, stronger, harder does not necessarily work then, unless we really ARE expecting to face someone approximately the same height and weight as ourselves?
No. If moving from a standpoint of proper principles and mechanics, whatever it is should work by way of good mechanical principles without the need to add anything to it or take anything away from it... Especially strength, speed, and power. All of that will be present without much effort if we are doing things correctly.

Our methodology needs to change, this change begins with how we frame things, especially as Teachers, we have to know where to begin, how to explain, how to demonstrate properly from a place of personal understanding.
This means it cannot be handed to us as a homogenized 'one size fits all' training curriculum where everyone is trained in exactly the same way with the exact same expectations as everyone else.
This means getting rid of the 'Cookie-Cutter Karate' where we answer one thing with something specific and expect that to work for everyone... 'Here ya go, if your opponent does X, then you need to the Y,' that simply is not how life works, especially in the chaos of violence.
There is no 'Bunkai,' Bunkai only means 'analysis' and once we start getting this through our heads we can really begin our training... Drills are drills, they are meant to teach things, they are not meant to be the 'be all, end all.'

If I tell you something is a 'Block' then that is stuck in your head. Most often people do not look much beyond the explanations they are given, whether it is due to their programmed notions regarding 'people of seeming authority' or just pure laziness I have no clue, but seldom do we look beyond this.
Specific techniques do not exist outside of being singled out as teaching tools, just as various drills are not meant to be actual applications, they are teaching tools, most times this is not illustrated to any real degree by the Teacher, so the fault necessarily lay with them.

In the beginning we learn in what I think of as a 'lego' fashion, or at least that is Traditionally how it goes for Karate... This is extremely flawed. All training is flawed to a degree for safety purposes, but Karate takes it to a whole new level and people live in a delusion that this is the way it actually is. It isn't.
After a while of training we SHOULD be moving on to something a bit more akin to cursive... With its' continuous motions blending together in an artful creation, but we don't, not in the present methodology, even in schools that seek to escape how things were done previously... Not all of them, but some of them.
To be honest, we should start with cursive, we should start from a stance that allows for free-form creation straight away... Readily applicable... Not something that takes years and an athletic physique to apply effectively... THAT is NOT how Karate was originally and THAT is NOT how Karate should be now.

Sport sparring is NOT self defense, Karate is NOT about fighting... It was designed to end confrontations, not fight an opponent in mutual combat.
The ball was dropped earlier on... Those 'Masters' we revere, those pictures hanging on the Shomen to which we bow in respect... THEY dropped the ball. THEY passed it on to you and I.
They certainly do deserve respect, but they were not perfect, they were certainly not saints, otherwise they would not have been schooled in violence, and many of them were kids, or at least very young when they 'founded' their arts, so save the reverence.

As far as an art containing everything? I hear it all the time, 'Oh yeah, we do that,' and 'that has always been there.'
No. No it hasn't. Very few people were thinking about ground work before the Gracies came along and literally started mopping the floor with everyone because they had never experienced anything like that before.
Some went back and made excuses, others sought to supplement their training by actually seeking the Gracies out and learning what they found themselves to be lacking... THEN they started to look in other areas that could be lacking and sought to fix those as well.

True respect is in building upon foundations... THAT is Tradition... Our methodology needs to change and it will not change is we find ourselves clinging to things that have no use or value beyond simply collecting dust. It does nothing for us and it is NOT a form of respect to those who passed it down to us.
Even having dropped said ball, they were attempting to improve upon what they knew, they were attempting to make it relevant, they were attempting to make it something that could help people improve themselves.
This is ALL good stuff, but NOT when it is to the detriment of the actual spirit underlying the thing in question... Be like them to a point, but don't, for a minute, allow the spirit to be stifled.